A company in the Australian state of Victoria had its labour licence application rejected after the company allegedly offered a bribe to an inspector, according to a post by the Labour Hire Authority of Victoria. The company also allegedly provided false or misleading documents when the authority raised concerns about the company providing services without a licence.

The director of the company sent a text to a Labour Hire Authority inspector offering to meet in person and pay a sum of money, according to the authority.

Immediately, the inspector escalated the matter within the authority.

“This sort of behaviour shows that — despite our significant progress — we need to remain vigilant to improve the integrity of the Victorian labour hire industry,” Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner Steve Dargavel said in the post. “We do not tolerate improper or unlawful behaviour by labour hire providers, and we have highly trained staff and rigorous processes in place to identify and address noncompliance.”

The applicant was asked about information that appeared to show the company had been paid for providing labour hire services to a farm despite not being licenced, according to the authority. The applicant provided an invoice indicating the payment from the farm was for equipment and the applicant claimed the company had not provided labour hire services. However, further enquiries appeared to confirm the payment was for labour hire services.

With the rejection of the licence, the applicant is barred from providing labour hire services and prohibited from applying for a licence again for some time.

Investigations are ongoing regarding potential prosecutions, according to the authority.

It noted that bribing a public official in Victoria is punishable by up to 10 years in prison; penalties for providing labour hire services without a licence can exceed AUD 590,000; and providing false information to an inspector carries a maximum penalty of AUD 27,000 for an individual.

The authority also noted the applicant was in a personal relationship with a person at another labour hire firm that was a licenced provider. That other firm failed to comply with a notice to produce documents, which carries a penalty of up to AUD 138,690, according to the authority. The other company also appeared to be out of compliance with workplace and taxation laws because it no longer holds a labour hire licence.